Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a performance profile for Inside that is effectively defined by massive overshoot: every measured resolution and preset combination clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by a wide margin, with the lowest average frame rate recorded at 140 FPS in 4K Ultra. This is a system that does not merely run the game; it saturates high-refresh-rate displays at maximum settings across all tested resolutions, making it a top-tier configuration for this title, ranking 64th out of 3716 tested hardware combinations. The data indicates that the primary limitation for this pairing is not raw performance but the ceiling of the display it is connected to.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Inside shows a consistent pattern of extremely high frame rates that scale predictably with resolution and preset level. At 1920x1080, the lowest average FPS recorded is 307 FPS at Ultra settings, while the highest reaches 405 FPS at Low settings. The Medium preset at 1080p yields an average of 374 FPS, with a minimum of 318 FPS and a maximum of 430 FPS, while the High preset produces an average of 312 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 98 FPS, indicating that even the most demanding settings leave substantial headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages remain exceptionally high, though they show a modest decline compared to 1080p. The Ultra preset averages 222 FPS, the High preset averages 234 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 335 FPS, with a minimum of 285 FPS and a maximum of 385 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p averages 363 FPS. Notably, the difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1440p is only 12 FPS, suggesting that the visual upgrade from High to Ultra costs relatively little in terms of frame rate at this resolution. The Medium preset’s average of 335 FPS is significantly higher than High’s 234 FPS, a 101 FPS jump that highlights how the preset scaling affects performance.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains overwhelmingly strong, with all presets averaging well above 140 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 140 FPS, the High preset averages 147 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 235 FPS, with a minimum of 200 FPS and a maximum of 270 FPS. The Low preset at 4K averages 293 FPS. The most striking observation here is the non-linear scaling between Medium and High presets: the drop from 235 FPS to 147 FPS represents a 37.4% reduction in average frame rate, while the subsequent drop from High to Ultra is a much smaller 7 FPS. This indicates that the High preset introduces a significant rendering cost, likely tied to specific visual effects, that is largely mitigated when moving to Ultra.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the highest minimum FPS values among the presets that report them, with 318 FPS at 1080p, 285 FPS at 1440p, and 200 FPS at 4K. These minimums confirm that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not dip below 200 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data shows no instances of frame rate instability or stuttering, as the minimum values for Medium presets are all above 200 FPS, even at 4K resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals that the GPU is the dominant performance factor for Inside at all tested resolutions, though the CPU’s role becomes more significant as resolution decreases. The scaling from 4K to 1080p at the same preset illustrates this relationship. For example, at Ultra settings, the average FPS rises from 140 at 3840x2160 to 222 at 2560x1440, and then to 307 at 1920x1080. This represents a 58.6% increase from 4K to 1440p, and a 38.3% increase from 1440p to 1080p. This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where lower resolutions reduce the pixel count, allowing the GPU to render frames faster.

However, the extent of the FPS increase between 1440p and 1080p is smaller than the increase between 4K and 1440p, which suggests that at 1080p, the CPU begins to impose a limit on frame generation. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 405, and at 1080p Medium it is 374, indicating that even with minimal GPU load, the frame rate does not exceed 405 FPS. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s benchmark scores, including a Passmark single-thread score of 4430 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2080, indicate strong single-threaded performance, but the data still points to a CPU ceiling around 400 FPS for this game. The fact that the 1080p Low average of 405 FPS is only 42 FPS higher than the 1440p Low average of 363 FPS, while the 1440p Low average is 70 FPS higher than the 4K Low average of 293 FPS, reinforces this interpretation.

The presets also show how the CPU and GPU share the workload. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 153 FPS (293 vs. 140), which is a 52.2% reduction. At 1080p, the same comparison shows a difference of 98 FPS (405 vs. 307), a 24.2% reduction. The smaller percentage drop at 1080p indicates that the CPU is starting to become a co-limiting factor, as the GPU has more headroom to render frames quickly but is constrained by the CPU’s ability to feed it data. For a 2016 puzzle platformer like Inside, which is not geometrically complex, the CPU’s role is less about raw processing power and more about maintaining a high frame rate ceiling, and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a boost clock of 5.20 GHz appears sufficient for this task.

Best Settings per Resolution

For all three tested resolutions, the best settings are the Ultra preset, as it delivers the highest visual quality while maintaining average frame rates that vastly exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 307 FPS, making it the clear choice for maximum fidelity. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 222 FPS, which is still more than triple the playable threshold, and the visual upgrade over the High preset (234 FPS) is worth the small performance cost. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 140 FPS, which is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tests but still 80 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold.

The data supports the conclusion that there is no reason to reduce settings on this hardware. Even at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate of 140 FPS is suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming, and the minimum FPS for the Medium preset at 4K (200 FPS) suggests that the Ultra preset would still maintain a minimum above 60 FPS, although no minimum is provided for Ultra. The verdict data confirms that all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at every resolution, with the best settings being Ultra for each. This means that users can prioritize visual quality without any concern for playability, as the hardware provides a substantial performance buffer.

Similar Performance Alternatives

When considering alternatives to this specific CPU-GPU combination, the nearest rival data provides context for what other hardware would deliver comparable performance. For the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the closest matching CPUs are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS, with a delta of 0.4% and an average benchmark score of 39603, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450, with a delta of 0.7% and a score of 39485. These processors are effectively identical in average benchmark performance to the 9800X3D, meaning that a system built with either would likely produce very similar frame rates in Inside, assuming the same GPU is used. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 and AMD Ryzen 7 7700 are also close, with deltas of -0.7% and -0.8% respectively, indicating they are within 1% of the 9800X3D’s average score of 39768.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, the nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60, which has a delta of 0% and an average score of 60326, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, with a delta of 0.3% and a score of 60140. These GPUs are statistically tied with the RTX 4090 in average benchmark performance, suggesting that they would deliver nearly identical FPS in Inside when paired with the same CPU. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M has a delta of -2.5%, meaning it is slightly slower, while the AMD Radeon PRO V710 has a delta of 2.9%, making it slightly faster. However, all of these alternatives are within a 3% performance band, so the gaming experience would be indistinguishable in terms of playability.

It is important to note that these rival comparisons are based on average benchmark scores across multiple tests, not specifically on Inside performance. However, given that the RTX 4090 and its rivals are all high-end GPUs, the differences in frame rates for a relatively lightweight game like Inside would be minimal, and all of these combinations would easily exceed the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution and preset.

The Verdict

The verdict is unambiguous: this PC can run Inside at a level of performance that is far beyond what is required for a smooth experience. The verdict by resolution confirms that all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at every resolution, with the best settings being Ultra for all three. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 140 FPS, which is 80 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 222 FPS, and at 1920x1080, it averages 307 FPS. These figures indicate that the system has enough headroom not only for standard 60 FPS gaming but also for high-refresh-rate monitors, with the 1080p Ultra setting capable of driving a 300Hz display.

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 4090 is ranked 64th out of 3716 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 1.7% of all configurations. This ranking, coupled with the measured FPS data, supports the conclusion that this is one of the most capable systems available for Inside. The only potential limitation is the CPU’s apparent frame rate ceiling around 405 FPS at 1080p Low, but this is not a practical concern given that the game is fully playable at far lower frame rates. Users with a 4K 120Hz or 144Hz display will see flawless performance at Ultra settings, and those with 1080p or 1440p high-refresh-rate displays will be equally satisfied.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K Ultra settings?*

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 140 FPS, which is 80 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data lists Ultra as the best settings for this resolution.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 405 FPS, achieved with Low settings. The Medium preset averages 374 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets average 312 FPS and 307 FPS, respectively.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at lower resolutions?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 1080p. The FPS increase from 1440p to 1080p is smaller than the increase from 4K to 1440p, indicating a CPU-imposed ceiling around 405 FPS, as evidenced by the 1080p Low average.

*Q: How does this system rank compared to other tested configurations for Inside?*

A: This combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 64th out of 3716 tested hardware combos for the game, placing it in the top 1.7% of all configurations.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for the Medium preset at each resolution?

A: The Medium preset reports minimum FPS values of 318 FPS at 1920x1080, 285 FPS at 2560x1440, and 200 FPS at 3840x2160. These minimums confirm that frame rates never drop below 200 FPS.

Q: Are there any GPUs with similar average benchmark performance to the RTX 4090?

A: Yes. The Intel Arc Pro A60 has a delta of 0% and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 has a delta of 0.3% compared to the RTX 4090’s average benchmark score of 60347, indicating statistically identical performance.